Indians spent big on festive season sales, UPI transaction up 40% in Oct: Report

Consumer spending in India is soaring during the festive season, with people splurging on cars, smartphones, TVs and other items, boosting the country's economic growth, media reports said. Sales at e-commerce platforms like Amazon and Flipkart surged by almost a fifth in the first week of the festive season, compared to the same period last year. Digital payments made via Unified Payments Interface (UPI) also increased by 40# in October from a year earlier.

Economists see easing inflation and rising wages, especially in rural areas.

Consumer confidence hit a four-year high in September, according to the latest figures by the central bank, and demand for bank loans is near a 12-year high despite interest rate hikes this year.

According to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), India's GDP will grow at the fastest rate among major economies in 2023 and 2024, at 6.3% in both years.

Aside from the festive season, the Cricket World Cup and the forthcoming wedding season are likely to boost consumption.

Online sales from Amazon, Flipkart and others reached 47 billion rupees ($565 million) in the week through October 15, said the report by the market research firm Redseer Strategy Consultants.

High average selling price (ASP) items such as mobiles, electronics and large appliances emerged as the largest contributor to the sales, driving 67# of the total sales, it mentioned.

Flipkart Group continued to assert its leadership in week 1 of the festive season sale, further gaining market share over last year's sales to reach 63# in terms of Gross merchandise value (GMV).

Amazon, Flipkart, Myntra and others began the festive season sales from October 7 which is expected to reach Rs 90,000 crore worth of online GMV in the festive month -- up 18-20# from last year's festive month sales.